Transistors are an example of an electronic component that has continued to evolve in both usability and applications even as technology has advanced. Currently, there are dozens of different types of transistors that are in common use in a number of appliances and in many types of machinery and devices that are utilized in all forms of business.
The two main categories are bipolar junction transistors (BJT) and field effect transistors (FETs). A bipolar junction transistor may have three terminals: an emitter, a base and a collector. The field effect transistor may have four terminals: a source, a gate, a drain and a body (substrate). There are several types of bipolar junction transistors. For example, bipolar junction transistors (BJT) may be avalanche transistor, insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and photo transistors. There are several types of field effect transistors (FET). For example, field effect transistors (FETs) may be metal semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs), metal oxide field effect transistors (MOSFETs) or fin field effect transistors (FinFETs).